Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seafarers of the Deep
by FinalEvolution
Summary: Lost amongst the deep, with no memories of their pasts, two Pokémon travel together, both in the hopes of unlocking their memories, and unmasking the secrets this world of oceans has to offer.
1. Chapter 1

_Welcome!_

 _This is the wonderful world of Pokémon! Before we can get started, I have a few questions I'd like to ask. They won't be too difficult, and more than anything, they'll just help me to determine what sort of Pokémon you truly are. Are you ready?_

I listened to the voice in confusion. Who was that? Why did they want me to answer their questions? I looked around myself, hoping to get some answers from my surroundings. Instead, I was greeted with… virtually every color of the rainbow. Small spheres of light floated all around me, hundreds, thousands even, just surrounding me in every which way. Suddenly, another voice, just too quiet to hear properly, responded to the first.

 _Alright! Let's get started. First off, are you a boy, or a girl?_

Another quiet response, and this time, a new light appeared, a soft, white incandescent one, larger than all the others combined. A few of the other lights around me seemed to just… fade away, once this one came into being. The rest bobbed around a bit, filling in the voids leftover.

 _Okay, looks good so far! So, let's say you come across a bag with 10,000 dollars in it, and the name of the owner, who you've never met. What do you do with it?_

A response again, and this time, the white light took on the slightest, palest shade of blue, while all the lights closest to orange seemed to fade away, just like the ones earlier. What was happening? Why was this large light changing, and others, disappearing?

 _An interesting choice! Okay, now let's move on to the next question. If you had to choose to live your life forever in the sea, the land, or the sky, which would it be?_

The response came again, louder this time, yet still just outside of my hearing. After, two thirds of the remaining lights around me disappeared, just as the ones previous had.

 _Wow, this is going by way faster than I thought! And Arceus said this would be hard, haha! Alright, let's go for a common one next. If you had to choose between letting an innocent person be given the death penalty, or let 10 guilty murderers be declared innocent, which would you rather have?_

There was a pause then, before a few silent words were spoken. Suddenly, the pale light grew a darker shade of blue, and more of the red and yellow lights seemed to disappear. I finally decided to look down at myself, curious to if I had a light. A brilliant jade met my sight.

 _Huh, that's an interesting way to look at it. We should be able to wrap this up pretty soon, I think! Okay, so if you had to pick between living a life of luxury, but having no true friends or family, and living the life of a pauper with more close to you than you could ever imagine, which would it be?_

A fast response this time, one that, while still just too quiet for me to hear, I had a feeling I knew the answer to. Most of the lighter green lights disappeared now, along with all of the purple. I suddenly felt a twinge of fear. There weren't too many shades of green left. What would become of me if I, too, disappeared?

 _Wow, that was pretty quick! And just two more questions before we finish! Okay, so you have a choice between knowing how you'll die, or when you'll die. Which do you pick?_

The light paused, choosing it's words carefully, before responding. I noticed how afterwards, some of the blues started to fade away, and scarily for me, every shade of green lighter than I did, too. All that remained were colors that were mixtures of blue and green in some way,

 _Looking good! Okay, final question. This one's a bit tougher for most people, but I'm sure you can handle it. You're given a simple choice, one, or the other. Would you rather allow yourself to die, in the hopes of letting 100 random others live? Or would you live, and be able to save any 50 people you want?_

The light started to respond, yet it stopped only a few words in. It started up after, but again, it stopped. This went on a few times, before finally, it answered, and I saw every single light disappear, except for my own, and the now large, dark green light.

 _Congratulations! Thanks for answering all my questions as truthfully as possible. Of all the auras we had to become your partner, this one matched the best! I expect big things out of the two of you, so don't let me down!_

With that, I felt myself start to slip, and fade away, quickly becoming enveloped into nothingness as I became one with the large light. And then I started to drown.

o.0.o

There's always been something scary about drowning. Water surrounding you, slowly bleeding through every pore, tiring you out as you tread for longer and longer, hoping, begging, praying that something, anything, can come along and stop it. What's worse, is knowing the odds are stacked against you. You can tread water all you like, but in the ocean, there's nothing. The closest refuge could be fifty feet away, or fifty miles. It wouldn't matter, because you know you won't reach it. The currents control you, tossing you any direction they desire, leaving you with nary a say in the matter.

For me, there's never been anything but drowning. Swimming constantly, gasping for every bit of air I can get, barely hanging on- it's the worst thing anyone can experience. It's the only thing I've ever known.

I don't remember my name. It's been lost to me, for as long as I can remember. All I know is I've been swimming, swimming for a long time. Every once in a while, I'll spot something off in the distance, just barely visible, but with another wave, it's gone.

I want to say I have hope, but the truth is, I don't think I've ever had it. There's never been anyone around me, and nothing either, nothing but the hunk of wood I've clung to, dedicated my life to taking care of. It's pocked with missing chunks, and I can feel it slowly becoming waterlogged, yet at the same time, I know if it drifts away, so will I.

o.0.o

The sun beat down on me, baking me as I lay in the coarse sand. I squint to open my eyes, feeling waves gently lapping at my sides, and look around, doing my best to shield my eyes from the sun. A tan beach met my gaze, the sand glinting eagerly in the sunlight.

Slowly, I rose to stand, my legs shakily supporting me. Sand filtered off my body, billowing on the sand around me. I dragged myself through the beach, away from the water. The sand clumped together around me, leaving masses of it clinging to my fur. Still, I trudged on, headed towards a tree line.

The trees provided me with some shade, which was good. I didn't know how long I'd been in the sun for, but it couldn't have been long. I'd have dehydrated if it had been more than a few days. How I knew that, I don't know, but the fact that I did was good.

I was content to simply lay there for a time, simply allowing my body to rest for the first time in something other than sunlight and water. The sand stuck to my body was a minor inconvenience, yet it wasn't anything overly difficult to ignore. As my body slowly became more relaxed, and I felt more of the tension leaving me, I felt myself begin to drift off once more, yet before I could, I felt myself snap awake. No, I couldn't sleep. Not yet.

I forced my tired body to rise once more, looking deeper into the trees. If there were trees here, then there had to be a supply of fresh water. With difficulty, I began trudging through the overgrowth, my destination any source of drinkable water. My journey was thankfully short lived, however, as within just a minute, I came upon a small pond, no more than 60 feet across.

I pulled myself up to the edge, staring down at the crystal clear water. My reflection met my sight, and I was greeted with the face of an Eevee staring back. My own face.

I could feel an inkling of memories beginning to push against my mind, yet when I tried to grab hold of them, I felt a pain in the back of my head, and I immediately winced in response, losing my train of thought. By the time the headache had passed, the traces of memory were gone.

I looked up from the water, taking in my surroundings. There wasn't truly anything of interest, nothing around me worth checking out. Nothing, save for what appeared to be a small depression in the ground, near the other edge of the watering hole.

I walked through the water, letting the coolness refresh me, and the water brush away most of the sand off of me. When I arrived at the indent in the earth, I saw a few things. One, a folded piece of paper, with writing on the outside. Then, a small bag, just around half the size of my head. And lastly, a round red ball, stuck halfway in the dirt.

I looked over the paper, only to be unsurprised to find out I couldn't read it. I couldn't remember much anyways, so why would reading come easy? Then, I went through the bag, only to quickly discover it to be filled with 3 small stones, a red one, a blue one, and a green one. They each appeared to have something inside them, yet I couldn't quite see what.

Lastly, I looked towards the ball. It shined in the light, reflecting a white light into my eyes. I reached down with my paws, intending to dig it out. Slowly, I unearthed the entire thing, opting to pull it out of the ground with my mouth. It turned out the entire ball wasn't red, but rather, just the top. The bottom was an impeccably white shade, even despite having just been covered in dirt. There was also a black circle halfway down, looking as if it were a button. I opted to push against it, wondering if it would open the ball. It did.

With a sort of high pitched, yet quiet, screech, a red beam shot from the ball, quickly forming into the shape of a Pokémon. Within seconds, another Pokemon, a Riolu, stood next to me, looking all manner of confused. Its eyes darted around quickly, scanning the surroundings much in the same way I did. Once its eyes landed on me, it blinked a few times, an incredulous look on its face.

"H-hello..?" It tentatively asked.

"Hi," I responded, my head cocking slightly to the side as I looked at the Riolu. How did he get here?

"Who are you?" He spoke softly, taking care with every word, almost as if he was treading around someone who might snap at any moment.

"I'm…" I trailed off, trying to remember what to say. It came back to me suddenly, like an electric jolt hit me. "Evan. My name is Evan."

The Riolu just looks at me a bit longer, almost as if he's waiting for me to say more. Finally, he continues. "Do you know where we are?"

My head shakes in response. "I don't think so," I reply, glancing around as I do so. "I know we're near a beach, but other than that, I'm not sure."

Looking downtrodden, he replies, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm… Riley? Yeah, I'm Riley."

The Riolu seemed to have trouble recalling his name, the same as I, but I suppose it didn't matter too much. A wave of exhaustion suddenly collapsed on me, having been creeping along ever since I'd first found the ball that contained Riley. My legs buckled, and I winced as I fell to the ground.

Immediately taking notice, Riley rushed forward, and I felt a caring paw on my side.

He rubbed slightly against my clumped fur, his paw pressed against the various knots. "Are you okay?"

Still struggling to hold myself awake, I slowly replied, "Y-yeah, I think so. I'm just… so tired…"

Barely, I held on, my wakefulness threatened as if it were at the edge of a cliff. It suddenly dawned on me that I didn't know how long I'd been awake for. Hours? Days? Weeks? All of the time in the water just blurred together, and I could feel myself slowly slipping away...


	2. Chapter 2

A rustle. A snap. Cool air breathed on me, running gently through my fur. A light buzzing sound dashed through the background, and coupled with the piny, musty scent, I could tell I was surrounded by nature.

Slowly, I stretched out from the ball I was curled up in, my neck achingly moving away from my chest. My legs stretching, I took in a deep breath, fresh air forcing itself inside me. Footsteps approached, and a voice made itself known.

"Hey, you're awake! You slept for a really long time, I wasn't sure if you would wake up!"

Right. Riley. The earlier events replayed themself to me, and I remembered where I was. I rose up from the ground, tenderly putting pressure on my legs. No real pain, just a lot of soreness. That was good, I think. I took note of the light just then, it seemed to be coming from the opposite side as it did before I fell asleep. Turning to look at Riley, I asked, "How long was I asleep for?" My voice was hoarse, and it didn't sound quite right to me. I couldn't quite place it, but something about it was off.

Shrugging, he replied, "I don't think it was an entire day, but it was really close to it." He then unslung a small bag from around his shoulders, pulling out a few blue berries from it. He held out his paw then, the berries held in them. "Here, I found a bush with these earlier. I couldn't find too many, so I only ate half."

The berries themselves weren't much to look at. Bright blue, with a green stem on top. They did have a weird sort of shine to them, however, but I couldn't quite place what it was from. Still, hunger was hunger, and even if I didn't quite feel it yet, I knew I hadn't eaten in at least an entire day, so any sort of food was better than none. I started to reach for them with a paw, but I quickly felt my balance starting to fail, so I switched to instead reaching toward them with my mouth.

I felt sort of odd doing this, yet when my eyes wandered up to look at him, he just continued to look at me with the same smile. I pulled the berries toward me, my mouth absolutely full of them. Despite there only being three, they still took up almost all the space in my mouth. Chewing on them, I felt a few different flavors combining from them, forming a sort of amalgamation of sorts. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't bland, either. The flavor was just so difficult to describe, it really felt like it was multiple at once.

I thanked Riley for the berries, and already, I was starting to feel better. My body quickly became less stiff, and my mind more focused, and clear. "Wow, I really feel… good, after eating those berries. What are they?"

"I don't know, really. They tasted kind of weird, but they're not bad." He sat down across from me then, bringing himself to just over eye level with me. "So, how did you get here?"

I looked back behind me, towards where I assumed the beach was. "I think I came from there, by the ocean. I- I don't know, I can't really remember much. All I know is…" I shivered as I thought of it. "I was in the water, but I don't know how long for. I think I might have been stranded?" My head slowly hung lower and lower as I spoke. "I don't know, really, it's all just a blur to me."

Riley, picking up on the somberness in my voice, quickly latched onto another topic. "Oh, it's okay! We don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to. I think I was inside that ball over there, the red and white one." He motioned towards the fallen ball from the day prior, the one that had made the whooshing sound when I pushed the button. "I- I can't really remember much, either, but I think that's called a 'PokeBall'. I'm not sure how I know, but I think that's what it is."

Curious to get a better look at the PokeBall, I took a few steps towards it, until I was right next to it. There was a long crack running across it, from the top, to the bottom. An odd, small red light emanated from within it, glowing faintly in the daylight. It was definitely weathered, as if it had been here for a long time, yet there was virtually no dirt or debris on it.

Slowly, I reached out a paw to poke at it. It clinked lightly against my short claws, sounding as if it was hollow. "You were inside this?"

Nodding, Riley replied, "Yeah, I think so. I don't know how I fit, but for some reason, I think I did." He paused for a moment, before continuing, "You know, earlier when I was near the beach, I think I saw a boat. They were headed towards the other end of the island."

My head cocked slightly to the side as I looked at him attentively. "Really? How long ago was that?"

Shrugging, he said, "I don't know, like an hour or two ago. I didn't really look too hard at it, though, it was kind of hard to see."

I thought for a moment about the boat, before I said, "Well, did you want to go to the other end and look at it? I don't really know what else we can do."

Eyes lighting up, Riley replied, "Sure! Do you want to follow the beach, or should we go through this foresty place?"

He sounded excited about the prospect of seeing the boat, so, deciding it would be faster to go through the forest, I answered as such. "Well, I think the forest should be faster, since we're already here, and we can head straight there instead of looping around."

He nodded eagerly, a smile plastered on his face. "Awesome! Then maybe we can find some more Pokémon! Should we head out now?"

I nodded my head in agreement, and before I knew it, the two of us were trekking through the thick canopy of trees, headed to the northern side of the island. There wasn't much in the way of us, other than the occasional berry bush, which both Riley and I looted each time. No more of those blue berries we had found earlier, but there were a few pink ones, as well as some nice red ones.

The main issue we were encountering, or rather, I was encountering, was the humidity. For whatever reason, it was sweltering, and my thick coat of fur definitely wasn't doing me any favors. Riley seemed to be faring better, but then again, his thin hairs probably didn't add very much heat to him.

After pausing on what felt like the tenth berry bush, finally we found another small pond, and I dashed to it, ignoring the berries entirely. Happily, I drank my fill, the cool water easily refreshing me. Smiling deeply, I looked back towards Riley, only to discover that the bush I thought he would have gone to was gone, along with him.

"Riley? Are you there?" I called out to him, taking a few steps away from the water. I didn't receive a response, so timidly, I took a few more steps from the pond, going so far as to walk until I was on top of where I had last seen him. I glanced around, my eyes shifting from side to side. "Hello?"

Still lacking in a response, I elected to keep walking in this direction, until I found him, only to quickly discover that… something, was blocking me. It wasn't a physical thing, like a tree, or a rock. I just… wasn't able to go any further. Curious, I lifted a paw up, and tried to push against whatever was stopping me. It met nothing but air, and simply fell back to the ground. Still, I couldn't step forward.

"Wha- why can't I go anywhere?" To answer me, I heard a low growl start up, coming from my right. Freezing in place, I slowly moved my eyes and head, until I was face to face with a dog a few inches taller than me. Light brown fur covered his body, with the majority of his face a lighter, tanner shade. Eyes narrowed, his head was tilted down, and his haunches were raised. Instinctively, something clicked, and I knew I needed to get out of there.

With naught a thought more, I sprung away from the invisible wall, and away from the dog, headed back towards the pond. The rustling and crunching of flora behind me tipped me off to the fact that the dog was pursuing me, and as such, I skirted around the river, cutting it a bit close, yet managing to stay ahead of him. Up ahead of me, however, I saw what looked like a tree line, with trunks far too close together for me to possibly squeeze through. My breath coming unsteadily out, I made the split second decision to cut left, heading towards what looked like a clearing.

Bursting through the plants, I came across another pond, this time curved around the clearing, and… a staircase? Not giving much thought to the reasoning behind it, I rushed towards the stairs, bounding up them. Once I got to the top, my eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and I was breathing extremely hard, my lungs right in my chest as I struggled to catch my breath. My entire body ached, and I could already feel the beginnings of a headache starting up.

Realizing the dog may have followed, I panickedly turned around, a lump formed in my throat. Instead of the dog, however, I was confronted with… nothing. Not even the stairs. In fact, despite having just climbed random stairs, I was no higher than I had been previously. It was as if I had just climbed up, and ended up in the same place. Bewildered, I looked around in a circle, certain that something was wrong here.

"What's- what's going on here? Shouldn't there have been stairs?" I'm not sure if I expected anyone to answer me or not, but both fortunately and unfortunately, no one did. Still, I continued, "And what about Riley? Why is everything disappearing? None of this is making any sense…" Sighing, I picked a random direction, off to hunt for Riley, or, rather, anyone who wasn't that dog earlier. In fact, why had it gotten upset at me? I hadn't done anything to it, I had just been looking around. Within a few minutes of walking, and occasional bumps up against the invisible "walls," I found another of the berry bushes. For whatever reason, I'd been feeling hungrier much faster as time went on, so I elected to pause, and eat a few.

They were pink, with and odd sort of curl to them, ending in a yellow tip. Still, it was kind of weird to me how it looked the same as the previous bushes, yet had a completely different fruit. Just as I was about to take a bite, I suddenly heard a shout, and without a moment of hesitation, dashed towards it, the berry still clutched tightly in my mouth.

The noise wasn't far, but with the way I could hear the owner of it moving, I could tell it would be hard to catch them. Dodging under branches, scuttling through undergrowth, I trekked on, trying to follow the sounds of running. Hearing a sudden turn to the right, I turned as well, angling myself to catch up to them.

Bursting through a set of plants, I caught a glimpse of blue fur, along with appeared to be a brown, bipedal Pokémon following after. A leaf sat on its head, and, upon realizing I was there, the Pokémon turned to face me. It pulled its leaf down towards its mouth, blowing gently on it in a whistle.

I suddenly began to feel drowsy, my eyes already drooping. The berry fell out of my mouth, landing on the ground, and I could feel myself swaying to the side.

I heard faint calls coming from somewhere, and I weakly answered, but still, there was no way they could have heard me. A few hot breaths came down on me from above, and I squinted as I turned my head to meet the eyes of the Pokémon. A shadow had fallen over him, preventing me from seeing him clearly, yet I could tell by the leaf it was the same one that had been chasing Riley.

It took a step closer to me then, before, suddenly, it began to look around in confusion, seeming almost unsure of itself.

A loud gasp cuts through the air, and before I know it, I see Riley, grabbing ahold of me, dragging me away from the Pokémon. Unsteadily, I do my best to walk with him, his arms wrapped around my sides as he allows me to lean on him for support.

"R-Riley…?" I sputter out, doing my best to stay awake.

"Don't worry, Evan. We just have to make it far enough away." Unmistakably, it's Riley, but the more he speaks, the quieter his voice gets. I can tell what he's thinking. I was thinking it, too. It would be so easy to leave me. I couldn't help defend us. I couldn't even run away on my own. All I was doing was making a bigger risk for Riley.

I heard footsteps then. Slow, yet picking up the pace. They were approaching us, and I could tell that there was more than one. I knew what had to be done.

"I can hear them," I breathed, my voice coming out slowly. "You need… you need to run, Riley. Just…"

If I could have see him, I would have see a shake of his head. "Not- not without you. I couldn't do that."

"They'll catch us if you stay. But… but if you go, you can… make it." This was it. If he took my idea, he'd have a chance. But no matter what, I was a goner.

I'm not entirely sure what happened next. I know he was there when I woke up. But I don't know if I'd have rather him ran to save him, or stayed to fail defending me. Both seemed like undesirable outcomes.

Instead of waking up to either of those, along with the Pokémon that attacked us, I instead woke up to… laughter.

"Wow, so you really must be pirates! That's so cool!"

"Ah, not really. The only one who really acts like it is Chatot, but that's just because he likes to do the voice. But I heard him one time, he'd had a few too many drinks, and he was talking normal, so I know he's faking it!"

"Ah, come on then, you're the only one I've ever heard say that, Chikorita. If he really was faking, I'm sure that someone would have mentioned it by now."

Chikorita just laughed again. So she was the source of the laughter. "Alright, alright, you've got me there. Still, it won't stop my being right, Kabu!"

Riley spoke up then, and I realized he was the one who had called them pirates. "Hey, so, when's that Chesto berry going to work? Does it take a while?"

"Nope! Our little 'Vee should wake up any second now." The voice came from above, almost as if it was in a tree.

Finally, feeling the strength to move, my eyes fluttered open, squinting in the still harsh sunlight. "Evan, you're awake!"

I glanced over at Riley, a smile plastered on his face as he stood a few feet away. "Yeah, I… I am. What happened? And… " I looked around, my eyes sticking like glue to the large, brown shell of the scythe wielding Pokemon next to us. "Wh-who's that?"

Still grinning like crazy, Riley replied, "That's Kabu! He's a Kabutops, and he's here with a Chikorita, and a Wingull! They saw us being chased by a Nuzleaf, so they came over to help us out."

"Yup! Wingull saw you, and thought we should investigate, since your type of Pokémon aren't normally seen around here, and you could have washed up." The Chikorita this time, speaking with a voice sounding similar to my own, albeit an octave higher.

"So, what, you guys are like… explorers? Or pirates?"

The Kabutops shook his head. "Not really, although I'd be surprised if at least one of us wasn't at some point. We're part of a Seafaring crew, which means part explorer, part rescue, part, well, anything really. Lotta islands and such to go around, so there isn't really a point in not working together."

The voice from above, the Wingull, suddenly called down, "Yup! We each have our own roles, and it works out great for us! Well, usually, that is. Like with me! I'm more of a messenger and item holder, usually for when these two are too lazy to carry something." He chuckled a bit at his jab, ignoring the pointed looks he received from his companions.

The Chikorita laughed along with him, however, and said, "Winny, I think that might have something to do with how neither of us can actually carry the bag, unless you either strap it onto me so it can drag on the ground and rip, or trust Kabu to not accidentally slash the straps the second he's in a fight. Besides, that bag's the perfect fit for you! Just look, it fits perfectly fine on you right now."

I looked up at him, and from what I could see on the white bird, it looked like the bag, indeed, fit him perfectly. Still, that didn't stop him from letting out a fake sigh, and muttering something about cardio.

Tapping his scythes together, Kabu continued, "Anyways, now that you're awake, and we've all had a good laugh, is everyone ready to move on? Don't wanna spend too much time out here. It is a Mystery Dungeon, after all."

"Mystery Dungeon? What's that?"

The Kabutops gave Riley an odd look for that question. Still, you were glad he asked, since you were curious, too. "Don't you know? You're in one, right now." He waves his arm in a broad sweep, and says, "This, and everything inside it, is part of the Mystery Dungeon. What, are you saying you've never heard of one before?"

Shaking his head, Riley says, "I, uh, I don't think so. I can't really remember."

"Really now? Well, we can explain it on the way! Although I'm not too sure on how you wouldn't know; just about everyone does, these days!" The Kabutops has begun to walk, and as a group, we followed suit.

"Well, the thing is, I don't think either of us really remember much," I explained. "I only really know my name, and just a few other things that sometimes pop into my head. Same with Riley."

Nodding in affirmation, Riley continued, "Yeah, like earlier I could tell that I'd come out of a PokeBall, but I didn't really know much else about it. Everything just seems kinda weird, you know?"

Chikorita gave him an awed look at that. "A PokeBall? Come one, you're pulling our leg. No one's seen one of those in forever!"

He nodded his head again. "Yup! It had a big crack in it, though, and I could see some light and stuff coming out, so it was probably really old. I don't even know how it got here!"

The Chikorita's eyes starting to stare off in thought, and she replied, "Wow, imagine if you hadn't been in it, I bet it would be worth a fortune! We could use it to trade for anything we wanted!"

I piped up, "But why would it be worth money? It's just a little broken ball."

Giving me an incredulous look, she replied, "Are you serious? A bunch of Pokémon would want it! Especially scientists, they'd be able to try and figure out how to make a new one!" She suddenly turned to face Kabu. "Hey, hey Kabu! Can we go back and look for that PokeBall? I bet we could make a fortune!"

Giving her a small smile, the Kabutops replied, "Oh, I'm sure we could. I'll be sure to mention it to Chatot when we get to the ship, see what he thinks."

Doing a small jump, she exclaimed a short, "Awesome!", a huge grin spread on her face. Turning back to us, she continued, "This'll be great! Now I bet Chatot will for sure trust me more! Is there anything else you guys know about here?"

We both shook our heads no, neither entirely sure as to what could have been on the island. Before we knew it, after having begun engaging in a conversation in which Chikorita, or Chia, as she told us to call her, essentially explained random facts about things that she thought we should know about, we were climbing another, final set of stairs.

"... and that's why you should always gather as many Sitrus Berries as you can!" Chia finished explaining, a dopey grin on her face.

"Wow, that sounds awesome! And they just make you healthier, and for a longer amount of time?"

"Yup! Aren't they great?"

While we were both awed by her knowledge of berries, we suddenly found ourselves stepping off the stairs, and into... an empty clearing.

A blade raised to his chin, Kabu said, "Hmm, I suppose this is the end. Although there isn't much of anything here."

"Aww, you mean we care out here for nothing? That sucks!" It was obvious that the Chikorita was starting to pout, yet both Kabu and Winny laughed at her.

"Ahh, come on, Chia! You don't hear us whining! Besides, I had to carry this bag the entire time, too!" To emphasize, Winny flashed the side of the bag at her. In all fairness, it really did look rather big on him, but then again, he wasn't that big to start with.

"And besides," continued Kabu, "We did find these two, so even if there wasn't any treasure, we're not walking away emptypawed!"

"Treasure?" Questioned Riley. "What treasure?"

"Well, apparently there's some sort of secret treasure out here that no one's found yet. It's supposed to be rarer than just about anything else!" Kabu's eyes shined as he explained.

Nodding my head in understanding, I replied, "Oh, so that's why you're out here! Well, I'm sorry you didn't find it, but thank you for helping us, too!"

We began to file away from the clearing, and as such, Chia turned to me, and asked, "So, what are you two's plans? If you don't remember anything, where are you gonna go?"

Shrugging, I answered, "I'm not sure. Our entire plan was just to find other Pokémon, really."

Eyes going wide, Chia quickly turns back to Kabu once more. "Oh! Oh! Kabu, can they come with us? They'll be able to help out, and we can go treasure hunting, and battle Pokémon, and all kinds of stuff!"

After eyeing her for a moment, Kabu turns to both you and Riley, and asks, "So, no clue where you're going, huh? Did you want to come with us? We're already headed back to the nearest Habitat, Quam. If anything, you might remember more on the way."

Riley turned to me, and I could see some slight apprehension in his eyes. He began slowing down, and I as well, until we were a few paces behind them. "What do you think?" He asked, his voice low. "I know we wanted to find other Pokémon, but still, do you think we can trust them?"

Shrugging again, and keeping my voice low as well, I responded, "I don't know. They seem fine, and besides, I'm sure we can have fun with Chia. Still, why all the nervousness now? Didn't you think we should try and go with them?"

Fidgeting slightly, he replied, "Well, I mean, when we woke up, I thought it was a good idea. And it helped that they, you know, woke you up and stuff. But still... I think they might actually be... pirates." He almost whispered the last word, yet I heard him clear as day.

Nudging his side with my head, I laughed, and said, "Ah, don't worry about it, Riley! They did save us, after all. That means we at least owe them the benefit of the doubt, right?"

I could still see the uncertainty in him, but before I knew it, he was shaking his head in agreement. "You know, you're right. I think... I think we do." Turning to Kabu, he said, "I think we'll go with you. Just until... just until we can get to that place, Quam. Wherever that is."

"Then it's settled. I'd welcome you aboard the ship, but alas, we're not there yet. Still, hope you like sailing!" A grin was on Kabu's face as he said that.

And, nearly jumping in the air with joy next to him was Chia. "Yay! That means we get to go treasure hunting together! This'll be the best voyage ever!"

And thus, our adventure had begun. A few snags here, a few fumbles there, and a new set of friends, who could help use find our way.


End file.
